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Forums - Discs & Movies - Superman Ultimate Editions

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Tad obsessive aren't we? It was JUST released 2 weeks ago, they're not going to announce a NEW release of it, especially BEFORE X-Mas when everyone will be getting the current version. Isn't that what pissed people off about Fox 2 years ago with "I, Robot" and "The Day After Tomorrow"?

Edit: My apologies, I did not mean to attack or offend you if I did. For my serious answer, I'd expect the new cut to come out next fall. September most likely because that's when "Doomsday" and "New Frontier" are coming out. THAT's when WB will sell out on "SR"

Does anyone know what the new SKU's are for the corrected R1 sets? That is if they have shipped them out yet. If anyone has bought a set that has correct discs, then could you get the SKU or ISBN. It would be a big help.

Update: I got an email from warner concerning the sku's. Apparently they will stay the same. I will post the email in case anyone is interested.

Unfortunately, the product sold in the stores has not yet been corrected. The sku/upc code will not change.Please note that Warner Home Video is currently working on correcting this product. Once the problem has been corrected this information will be posted on our website. Please continue to visit our website regarding future updates.

Sounds like posterisation. The original release of The Matrix Reloaded had loads, but the version in The Ultimate Matrix Collection was much better. Not watched the Superman Returns from the R1 set yet, so can't comment on whether it's present.

Sounds fishy. I thought Warner had stated that the original sound mix elements were unusable. Still, I can't say I'm that bothered about an exchange as I don't really see myself ever wanting or needing to watch the theatrical over the expanded version. I liked what they did with the new version.

Anyone else found that SR picture quality isn't that great considering it's an HD source and transfer? I have a zoom facility on my DVD player, to look at areas of the picture more closely, and it is riddled with blocking. It's more noticable when the frame has one overall colour or subtle shades of that colour (the under water scenes or when Superman slowely decsends into the fortress of solitude) but it seems to be far worse than say Episode 3 which still holds up to scrutiny when the image is blown up. Instead of gradual shades across the frame there is a sort of ugly banding effect. I don't think for one minute it's the source material it just looks like bad encoding. Why SR should look worse than Ep 3 I've no idea. Ep 3 was of comparable length and it had more disc space taken up with a commentary track. I wouldn't like to think what a longer version of the film plus a commentary would look like.

In fact, I would say that S:TM, despite it being nearly 30 years old (and on 35mm) looks to have had a better job done on it as far as how it's been encoded/authored for DVD.

I was expecting more from Superman Returns in the visual department. The DD5.1 is really good though. Lots of directional effects centre seemed low but that might just be me. Kids were in bed so overall level was lower than I would have liked it. Even the opening Legendary Pictures logo has got sound coming from all over the place.

The documentary on SR was good but not as focused as the LOTR docs. Plus where is all the stuff on the post production and visual effects. I know some of that is in the R1 set as part of Bryan Singer's journals, but the whole 'making of' process just seems to stop once filming has wrapped.

We will of course be buying this all over again in the future so hopefully the post production phase of 'the making of SR' will show up at some point.

R2 was released yesterday wasn't it? Anyone bought it that can confirm if its all ok?

Never mind just saw this from supermancinema.co.uk

It has been brought to the attention of Warner Home Video ("Warner") that the UK DVD release of Superman: The Movie - Special Edition does not include the original theatrical 2.0 audio on the 1978 theatrical version of the film. The audio options for this film are a remastered 2000 remixed English audio track in Dolby 5.1 and a Dolby 2.0 version of the remastered 2000 remixed audio track. Please note that these discs are not defective; we have received no complaints regarding the playability of these discs.

Although the theatrical audio mix was not listed on any of the UK press releases or packaging, Warner are in the process of creating a disc with the original 2.0 theatrical mix so that any UK consumers who would prefer to have this audio option will be able to exchange their Disc 1 of Superman: The Movie 4-disc Special Edition for a disc with the original theatrical audio and Dolby 5.1.

Replacement discs can be obtained, at no cost to the consumer, by calling: 0207 984 6480. Warner Home Video will provide consumers with a pre-paid, pre-addressed envelope for sending the disc they are returning. Upon receipt of the purchased disc, Warner Home Video will send a replacement Disc 1 as soon as they become available. Warner Home Video will honor all requests for replacement discs that comply with the exchange program requirements.

Note: The above information only applies to Warner Home Video UK, and to UK Region 2 copies of Superman: The Movie which was available individually (4-disc set), in The Christopher Reeve Superman Collection (9-disc set), and in the Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition (13-disc set).

I don't appear to have been sent mine from cdwow yet, but I will just order the replacement when it eventually arrives!

Here we go. Just bought mine and all but one of the discs are scratched in some way or another. I've been here with Babylon 5 boxsets and the only way I got a good set was to stand in the shop making one complete set up out of 3 others.

The Donner cut was damn good. I thought the ending was a bit of a cop-out with the "spinning the world back to make the events not happen" but at that time in the comic books Superman was a GOD type character.

I imagine I will end up just keeping the defective discs. I may end up buying III used somewhere if I decide I want to see the extras. I don't really care to send two discs in and wait months and be without. Other than the mistakes, it is a great set though. I really enjoyed the Donner Cut.

See now honestly, I don't mind that, but I mean, that means we're without S:TM or SIII for God knows how long. I know it's not the end of the world, it's just bothersome knowing the set is missing discs, even if it is only for a few weeks.

Mark Lim wrote: I was wondering for those waiting for replacement discs, do we have to send back the bad ones or do we get to keep them and get the good ones, which makes it 16? After calling Warner via a toll free number (1-800-553-6937), they will send you the pre-paid packaging materials and you will have to send the two discs back to them. They in turn will send the corrected discs back to you. How this applies to anyone who lives outside of North America is up to the discretion of where you purchased the set though, so you will want to check with your retailer first.

OMA wrote: Is anyone else upset with the packaging of the Ultimate Edition? I thought each movie and suppliment disk would be in their own thin case or double case not one big book. I also thought the "reprint of the classic comic book cover" would be the covers to the movie disks. This set in my opinion sucks on design. I like having the cases so I'm returning mine to Amazon and will buy the four movies I wanted individually. Sucks that it will actuallly cost me more but this tin is a joke and the layout of the disk is garbage. How about instead you just buy a few cases from the multitude of retailers on the web that sell DVD cases to hold any number of discs and print off some artwork that would no doubt be better than the retail, single versions anyway? Hmm...save money and keep all of the extra stuff in the set that you wouldn't get otherwise...what a grand idea.

OMA wrote: Is anyone else upset with the packaging of the Ultimate Edition? I thought each movie and suppliment disk would be in their own thin case or double case not one big book. I also thought the "reprint of the classic comic book cover" would be the covers to the movie disks. This set in my opinion sucks on design. I like having the cases so I'm returning mine to Amazon and will buy the four movies I wanted individually. Sucks that it will actuallly cost me more but this tin is a joke and the layout of the disk is garbage. *********** If I could I'd slap you right now with my big giant slapping salmon. How. Very. Dare you.

Is anyone else upset with the packaging of the Ultimate Edition? I thought each movie and suppliment disk would be in their own thin case or double case not one big book. I also thought the "reprint of the classic comic book cover" would be the covers to the movie disks. This set in my opinion sucks on design. I like having the cases so I'm returning mine to Amazon and will buy the four movies I wanted individually. Sucks that it will actuallly cost me more but this tin is a joke and the layout of the disk is garbage.

I decided to break down and buy this set, even if two of the discs are screwed up, but it seems that Amazon is holding off from shipping anymore out until they receive more of the corrected sets, presumably on the 8th of December.

Because it's just a downmix of the 5.1 track, with all the altered sound effects etc. The original 2.0 Stereo track is different. It wasn't on the old DVD because Warner said too many elements were damaged.

I watched those cartoon last night, and that Molemen thing. They really liked to show extended scenes of people chasing dwarves with large foreheads back in those days

I'm confused, why are people b***hing about the original soundtrack not being included. When theres a stereo soundtrack on there? Me brain hurtuum muchum Just watching the Fleischer cartoons on disc 4. Awesome.

Chris Gould wrote: stanton heck wrote: I am diapointed in this box set! It had a lack of deleted scenes! Looks like the bootleggers are still in business!

How has it got a lack of deleted scenes? There are deleted scenes on virtually every disc (apart from Superman III, but that's just a mistake). Christ, most of the Donner cut is comprised from deleted footage.

There is no deleted scenes from the Lester Cut! Tons of them were on the Restored international Cut! Also there is tons of extended scenes from Superman The move that could of been included!

stanton heck wrote: I am diapointed in this box set! It had a lack of deleted scenes! Looks like the bootleggers are still in business!

How has it got a lack of deleted scenes? There are deleted scenes on virtually every disc (apart from Superman III, but that's just a mistake). Christ, most of the Donner cut is comprised from deleted footage.

Aside from having the wrong audio mix for Supes 1 and the wrong disc for 3, the set is beautiful, and the extras look amazing. I'm waiting until they replace the discs, even if it takes months, to starts viewing the set's special features.

Chris Gould wrote: Um, either I'm going crazy, or none of the advertised special features for Superman III are on the disc... There's no commentary, no vintage making-of, and no deleted scenes...

Apparently WB accidentally included the 2001 release of Superman III and not the deluxe edition one. I've read reports around the Net about this. I certainly hope WB starts an exchange program because it seems most if not all will be this way..

Kneel before Zod! Or something. At least you got yours mega-cheap. The deleted scenes for Superman IV are so laughably bad I'm extremely thankful they didn't reintegrate them. I didn't actually think it was possible to make that film worse, but...

It's a lovely tin BTW. Mine arrived relatively unscathed as it was packaged very well. Disc holders are a bit naff, and a lot of the menus are static and boring, but apart from that it's lush.

Um, either I'm going crazy, or none of the advertised special features for Superman III are on the disc... There's no commentary, no vintage making-of, and no deleted scenes...

I'm referring to the fact that DTS isn't actually better than Dolby in real terms. There's never been any conclusive proof that either format is demonstrably superior. You can't just go by the raw figures, as they are entirely diferent codecs. DTS is definitely louder on most DVDs - and I'm fairly convinced this is what most people are hearing when they say DTS is better - but have you ever matched the levels and done a blind test?

DTS has become a good marketing tool for the studios. They are including it in place of original Mono and Stereo mixes in most cases, which can't be a good thing. Why put two nearly identical 5.1 tracks on the same disc? I guess descrete 6.1 audio is a good thing, but still...

You got yours yet Nic? Any customs charges, or did it sc**pe through okay?

SM:TM is a great advert for good remixes. I count the first Superman Movie as having one the greatest openings to a movie ever. The overture going into full on John Williams, it can't be beaten. Well it can but for the purposes of this, it can't. Even though it can. But won't. The only way it could be bettered would be if a whale flew overheard as the titles swooped by.

Even if the Donner cut only amounts to a curiosity of would might have been, it will be great see a cleaned up version of S2 in 5.1. The previous release was dog biscuits in comparison to the treatment the extended first movie got.

Bit of a shame, but there's so much more to this release I can live with it. The remix was actually extremely good, so it's not like it damages the viewing experience (like a lot of substandard remixes). To be honest it's not like they did it to piss people off - the original audio elements were apparently damaged beyond repair.

The ultimate collection doesn't include the original soundtrack after all despite advrtised

Quote: According to a post on supermancinema.co.uk, as well as capedwonder.com, the original 1978 stereo surround soundtrack which was supposed to be included with the original theatrical version of Superman the Movie on the new dvd apparently is NOT PRESENT despite Warner's press release that it would be.

I had the opportunity to view the packaging of both yesterday, and while the separate 4 disc edition lists the soundtrack as remastered DD 5.1, the bottom of the ULTIMATE SUPERMAN box stated that the original 1978 stereo surround soundtrack WAS included.

One of the reasons I and many other fans of this series lobbied for the original theatrical version of STM was to be able to re-experience it as I SAW and HEARD it in 1978(especially the effects sounds during the opening credits) . Otherwise, there was no reason to double dip. For Warner to promise and yet fail to deliver the 1978 OST after so many requests from fans is an absolute travesty. I have lost ALL enthusiasm for this release.

I am seriously considering cancelling my pre-order for the Ultimate set and urge others to do the same unless Warner delivers the 1978 OST as they promised, either by recalling or offering a disc replacement if necessary.

On the site it says £44.99, and on the Worldpay email it says £29.55...saying that though. The 44.99 plus the postage works out to be a more or less direct conversion of USD to GBP (Who just shouted "NERD!"?)...Interesting. Anyways I'm going to bed now before I get even more over excited...if thats possible.

I haven't bought from playusa for awhile but if it's a box set over about £20 you'll most likely get custom charged. I still rate PlayUSA quite highly though, despite this as they have been very reliable to date and replaced a rather large boxset that went missing in the post without any fuss. In some case, I'd rather pay a little extra just knowing that it's likely to turn up rather than piss away slightly less on a here today gone tomorrow company. But that's me.

Chris - you wouldn't happen to indulge me in the shop that you speak of for £44.99? feel free to let me know on paul@paulkozinski.co.uk if you dont want to post on the site - if yer up for it it would be much appreciated

Or - does anyone know of any companies that dn't incur custom charges? I didn't think playusa did - but I could be wrong!

Thanks for the info Stuart. I had a feeling they might not be worth it for me personally. I did buy the Kong Production Diaries and thought they were good (if a tad exhaustive) but what I've seen of Bryan Singer's Diaries on the net seemed unfocused, not particularly well thought out or even interesting. I'm sure there is intersting behind the scenes stuff to be had from them but I didn't see much from the few that I did watch.

Looks like R2 then. Going and picking it off the shelf is a factor rather than wondering when or if it'll arrive in the post. Picture quality wise I'm not too fussed at the moment. It's from a HD source so it will look 'the nuts' on either region. Plus I'm only watching on a 29' CRT anyway. That'll do until I upgrade to an HD set, when I'll no doubt have to re-buy the boxset again in HD as well.

I wasnt overly impressed with the production diaries. They do add up to a few hours though but they are just too short and badly shot to make a decent making of (and theres a very good making of on the Superman Returns second disc so I hear)

For the sake of walking down to the shop and not waiting for the postman to drop a card through my door asking me to call at the post office to collect the package that wouldnt fit through my door and then get hammered with customs charges....i think I will opt for the superior picture quality on Region 2

Chris, you are, as always, right and the fountain of knowledge that we turn to in times of deepest despair. It is indeed 14 and I too didn't see the cheeky little monkey still in it's case stood up. A foolish schoolboy type error.

Still not sure on which region though. Or whether the journals disc is enough to warrent a R1 purchase. Will wait and look forward to your review to assess the situation.

As far as I'm aware the R1 has fourteen discs and the extra stuff is Bryan Singer's production journals. You can see all fourteen discs in the third picture down in this thread. The fourteenth disc is still in the packaging, so it only looks like thirteen at first glance.

What's the extra disc in the region 1 Chris? Just doing a count up they've both got 13. The difference between the two releases seems to be the wording surrounding the Superman 2 and the Donner Cut. The Region 2's Supeman 2 seems to be a 3 discer which includes the Donner Cut on disc 3, while the Region 1 appears to have Supeman 2 as a 2 discer with the Donner Cut as a separate entity but included in the set as well.

Am I reading that right? I used DVDActive articles as the basis for my findings. It would be great to have a definative listing in one article to compare the 2 releases as there seems to be a lot of confusion as to the content of each 'Ultimate' release. Confusion whicg is compounded by the fact that there's also the Christopher Reeve Collection due out a couple of weeks earlier.

Superman UE. Ordering from Amazon US would only cost about US $76 (that's including shipping) to Thailand. That would ultimately be the total cost, since for some reason Amazon US never got taxed here, at least I never got any since I started order a couple of years ago.

Even the 3 LOTR Gift Set came through okay!

But I'll probably wait for this one, I'm getting my 2nd FRIENDS box for this month after a long thought, too irresistable package anyway!

They seem more or less the same, however one thing puzzles me - does the region 1 box have the Donner cut of 2? It claims to have the 3 disc special edition of 2, where as the special edition released seperately is only 2 discs.

So which one do you guys think - the Region 1 box is also £10 cheaper, but I don't want to get it if it doesn't have the Donner cut of 2!